Fabrizio De André, the revered Italian singer/songwriter, created a deep and enduring body of work over the course of his career from the 1960s through the 1990s. With these translations I have tried to render his words into an English that reads naturally without straying too far from the Italian. The translations decipher De André's lyrics without trying to preserve rhyme schemes or to make the resulting English lyric work with the melody of the song.

De Andrè and Bubola weave a story of a young girl who falls in love with an American pilot into strands of other references to pop songs (Angiolina, Madamadorè) and films ("a policeman fell in love with her" references Pane, amore e fantasia, for example).

There’s a woman who sews the wheat,
turn the card over, you’ll see a peasant,
a peasant who tills the soil,
turn the card over, there comes a war,
for the war there are no more soldiers,
barefoot, they’ve all fled.

Angiolina walks, she walks
in her blue shoes.
A policeman charmed her,
turn the card over and he’s no longer there.
A policeman did charm her,
turn the card over and he's no longer there.

There’s a boy who climbs over a gate,
he pilfers cherries and bird feathers,
he throws stones and has no sorrows,
turn the card over, there's the Jack of Hearts,
Jack of Hearts who's a flash in the pan,
turn the card over, the rooster awakens.

Angiolina at six in the morning
weaves some nettle leaves into her hair.
She has a necklace of peach stones
that she turns three times 'round her fingers.
She has a necklace of peach stones,
she counts it three times between her fingers.

My mother has a mill and an unfaithful son,
she sweetens his nose with an apple pie.
My mother and the mill were both born laughing,
turn the card over there’s a blond pilot,
a blond pilot, tops of silk,
cap of fox fur, smile of an athlete.

Angiolina seated in the kitchen,
who cries, who eats a mulberry salad.
A young foreign boy has a disc of an orchestra
that spins fast, that speaks of love.
A young foreign boy has a disc of an orchestra
that spins and spins, that speaks of love.

Madame Dorè lost six daughters
midst the bars of the port and its allures.
Madame Dorè knows the stink of a cat,
turn the card over and she pays the ransom,
she pays the ransom with the bags under her eyes,
full of photos of dreams interrupted.

Angiolina is cutting up magazines,
dressed as a bride, of victory she sings.
She calls forth her memories with their names,
turn the card over and it ends in glory.
She calls forth her memories with their names,
turn the card over and it ends in glory.

Rimini grew out of De André's disappointments with the political events of the previous couple of years. In close collaboration with Massimo Bubola, a young 24-year-old who had just released his first album, De André explored several social and political themes, including abortion, homosexuality, and how the petite bourgeoisie attempted to move into the ranks of the powerful and rise above the political and social turmoil of the times. The music has more influence from American rock and pop music than previous albums, and includes his first forays into ethnic music, which will eventually come to full fruition in his masterpiece album Crêuza de mä.